France Denies US Pressure Behind Decision to Exclude South Africa From G7 Summit As Kenya Is Invited
- France has responded to South Africa's exclusion from the upcoming G7 Summit after claims that the country was pressured by the United States
- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa also acknowledged the country's non-invitation, but downplayed the seriousness of it
- French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also noted that the country was preparing for the France-Africa summit in Nairobi
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Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online.
CERNAY-LA-VILLE, FRANCE – France has denied that it was pressured into disinviting South Africa from the G7 Summit.
The G7 Leaders' Summit is scheduled to take place from 15–17 June 2026 in Évian-les-Bains, France, but South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will no longer be attending.
French President Emmanuel Macron personally extended an invitation to Ramaphosa during the G20 Summit in South Africa in 2025, but that has since seemingly been revoked.
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On Thursday, 26 March 2026, Presidency Spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said that South Africa had been excluded following sustained pressure from the United States.
France denies being pressured into excluding South Africa
Addressing the situation, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that his country had ‘not yielded to any pressure’, insisting that South Africa remained a key partner in global diplomacy.
He made the comments at a G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting at the Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey in Cernay-la-Ville outside Paris, France, on 27 March, 2026.
Barrot also explained that France opted for a more ‘streamlined G7’ by inviting Kenya instead. President Macron will visit the African nation later this year as Kenya hosts the France-Africa summit in Nairobi in May 2026.
A US State Department official also maintained that his country did not ask the French to exclude South Africa from the G7 Summit, while a White House official said that the decision to invite Kenya came after talks among the G7 members.
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Ramaphosa also denied that France was pressured
Speaking to the media in the Free State, where he was visiting a housing site, Ramaphosa also denied that France had been pressured into excluding South Africa.
President Ramaphosa noted that many countries didn't get invited to the G7, adding that South Africa was not a member as well. He added that South Africa did not attend every G7 Summit, and that if it did not attend the June summit, it shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Global governance expert, Dr Thelela Ngcetane-Vika, also weighed in on the decision. Dr Ngcetane-Vika said that France’s decision was not a good sign of the relationship between South Africa and the United States.
US denies South African delegation accreditation to G20 Summit
Briefly News reported in December 2025 that the US denied a South African delegation accreditation to the Group of 20 (G20) Summit in Miami.
The summit will be hosted in Miami, Florida, in 2026, but the Donald Trump administration decided not to have South Africa present.
South Africa hosted the global event successfully in 2025, before handing over the presidency to the US.
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Proofreading by Kelly Lippke, copy editor at Briefly.co.za.
Source: Briefly News
